(Bloomberg) — The Tampa Bay Rays took a big step toward securing their future in Florida as a county board approved borrowing for the team’s proposed new stadium, benefiting from a surprise twist after two officials who initially opposed the deal flipped their votes.
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The Pinellas County Board of Commissioners voted late Tuesday to green light more than $300 million of bonds, a key part of the $1.37 billion project in St. Petersburg’s Historic Gas Plant District. The Major League Baseball team, led by financier Stu Sternberg, has agreed to contribute $700 million for the stadium and will be on the hook for all cost overruns.
“All eyes will now be watching to assure that the Rays uphold their part of the deal,” said Rene Flowers, one of the commissioners.
The 5-2 vote caps Sternberg’s long quest to establish a permanent home for the Rays on Florida’s Gulf Coast — although bickering between the county and the team signaled further tensions ahead. Chris Latvala, one of two Pinellas commissioners who supported the financing after opposing it earlier this year, criticized Sternberg and said he only changed his mind after speaking with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
“Once these bonds are passed, Stu Sternberg will demand even more money and when he doesn’t get it, he will threaten to move the team again,” Latvala said during the county meeting, urging the principal owner to sell the team to someone “who lives here, works here and truly cares about our community.”
In a statement on the vote, the Rays organization emphasized that the county’s failure to approve the financing sooner has caused the project’s cost to increase.
“We cannot absorb this increase alone,” the team said, adding that the delays have caused completion of the new ballpark to slip into 2029, a year later than previously planned. “When the county and city wish to engage, we remain ready to solve this funding gap together.”
Dave Eggers, the other commissioner who flipped his vote, stressed that his support was for the deal that had already been negotiated.
“This Pinellas county commission made a commitment in July to the deal that’s on the table,” he said.
New Development
The stadium will anchor a mixed-use area that includes affordable housing, retail, and green spaces. St. Petersburg has approved $287.5 million in public funding and also plans to sell approximately 65 acres (26 hectares) of public land at below-market value to facilitate the development, which is part of a broader strategy to boost economic growth in the region.
While the Pinellas commissioners agreed in July to allocate $312.5 million from the county’s tourist tax fund to help finance the stadium, they faced mounting pressure in recent months to finalize the deal.
Several delays, including setbacks related to damage caused by Hurricane Milton in October, fueled worries about the timeline and the cost of the project. Those concerns fanned speculation — including within the Rays organization — that the project would fizzle.
Milton ripped the roof off the Rays’ current stadium, St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field, rendering it unplayable for the 2025 season. The team announced it will play next year at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring-training home of the division rival New York Yankees.
The Rays’ lease at Tropicana Field ends following the 2027 season. While the St. Petersburg city council recently voted to approve funds to begin the process of fixing the venue, it’s unclear whether it will be ready in time for the 2026 season.
(Updates with commissioner comment in fourth paragraph, team statement in sixth.)
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